Destructoid Changelog - Cool! Cool! Convicts!

Time makes fools of us all. Last week, I mentioned that with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom out of the way, I’d have the weekend free to do whatever I felt like. But then the review code for the Silent Hill 2 remake came in hot. Most of the other staff weren’t able to take it, but being at least indoctrinated into the series, I was interested to see how the brush-up went.

So, that was my weekend. A lot of skulking around in dirty environments and stabbing myself with rusty needles. This upcoming weekend? It’s Canadian Thanksgiving, so I’m going to let my parents feed me. Then it’s probably back to my busy schedule.

Same with every week, I’m going to remind you of a couple things. The first is that you can view past issues of the newsletter over here. So, if you’ve just signed up, you can look back at all the other times I’ve struggled through an introduction.

The second is that we have a monthly special newsletter. You can get access to it by sharing the link below to a friend and having them sign up to the newsletter through it. The monthly newsletter features interviews you won’t find anywhere else. Probably. I don’t know that for sure, and I also don’t know anyone who would conduct themselves as unprofessionally as I do. This month, it will be with Magicdweedoo or just Dweedes to their friends. They’re the developer behind the pleasingly weird Dryft City Kyngs. It will be both fun and informative. Funinformative.

In the cartridge slot this week

Cool Riders

I talked about Cool Riders last year on Destructoid as part of my column on kusoge (a Japanese term for crap games). However, I quickly found out it’s not kusoge, then later discovered it’s what one would consider to be bakage (a Japanese term for stupid/weird games). Cool Riders is almost part of the OutRun series, having been built on the bones of OutRunners but focusing on motorcycles instead of sports cars. There’s even a banner at the beginning that says OutRiders, which might imply that was its original name.

I cannot stress how amazing this game is. It is pure chaos. While it’s built on OutRunners and features the same branching route format of other OutRun games (though, it features three branches each checkpoint rather than two), it’s been injected with a fatal dose of madness. The graphics are made from photomanipulated digitized sprites that depict characters such as a cowboy on a stilted dirt bike and a politician (or possibly mob boss) on a Vespa. You race through bizarre depictions of locations such as Japan and Las Vegas. It all goes by at a believable 300 km/h.

OutRunners was already a great game, but I don’t know why anyone would go back to playing it after experiencing Cool Riders. It feels great to play but has the added bonus of having so much insane scenery flying by at all times. One moment, fish are dancing beside you, the next you’re plowing through basketballs lining Chicago’s streets.

I have difficulty fathoming how a group of humans could work together so cohesively to create something this strange. It’s hard to even find out, since there are no credits listed. It’s now a dream of mine to track down somebody familiar with the development and ask them about it. A bigger dream, however, might be just to see Sega port it off arcades. More people need to experience it.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

Great game holes to jump down if you loved UFO 50 or just want to get into retro

Have you ever fallen down a game hole? Like, maybe you decided to play every Virtual Boy game or all the games by Love-de-Lic; just sort of an isolated exploration where you can learn as much as possible. UFO 50 is essentially a self-contained game hole. So, if you climbed out of that game hole and are interested in more, I’ve got a round up for you. Some of them are game holes that I’ve personally stuck my fingers. I’m speaking as a rather prolific game hole explorer.

Interview: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster team tells us what’s up with those respawning convicts

To explain the title of this article, there are three psychopaths (basically sub-bosses) in Dead Rising that show up in the mall’s courtyard. Unlike other psychopaths, if you take them out, they’ll just respawn and be there the next time you enter the courtyard. I’ve always wondered what led to that design decision, since it ensures that the courtyard is always dangerous. As it turns out, there’s an explanation.

I should probably stress (which I can’t do in a headline) this interview doesn’t just cover the convicts, it has a lot of good stuff about Dead Rising and its Deluxe Remaster. I think it’s interesting – a lot more interesting than I expected when I sent my questions.

Try not to die while gardening in Grunn, which I’m just hearing is out now

This might be showing you how the sausage is made, but my writing style can usually be defined as stream-of-thought. I start at the top of the article and just write until I hit the bottom. I find it helps maintain a flow in my sentences. Midway through writing this news post, a thought hit me. Something about Grunn’s trailer reminded me of an older indie title called Bernband. Because I thought I’d forget to later, I looked up Bernband’s developer to see if they had ever made a follow-up. I hit their YouTube page and discovered that they had made Grunn. I don’t know what it was, but I subconsciously connected Grunn to one of the developer’s previous endeavors. I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to recognize it.

Come hell or high water, Cruelty Squad follow-up Psycho Patrol R will hit Early Access March 2025

Cruelty Squad is an unforgettable game. If you’ve played it, then I don’t even have to establish that because you clearly remember it. It’s a miasma of uncomfortable graphics, music, and mechanics, that all somehow work to create a mesmerizing game. The next game from the developer Psycho Patrol R has proven to be a weight on the mind for its creator. Now, he’s saying that he’s ready to kick the game out the door regardless of what shape it’s in. The deadline he’s giving himself is March. I go into more detail about his recent mindset in the article; it’s not just what it says in the headline.

Reviews for review this week

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

I’ve never gotten into the Diablo series, and that is entirely due to lack of trying. I’m not sure what it is about them, but they’ve never interested me. It’s perhaps because every screenshot I ever see takes place in a wasteland or volcanic area. However, Steven “Superflex” Mills is a fan, so he can give you the skinny on how Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred measures up. Oh! It looks like it isn’t set entirely in a wasteland.

Silent Hill 2 (2024)

Here’s that review of the Silent Hill 2 remake that I mentioned. It was kind of sad to see people ragging on Bloobler Team, but I guess I understand, considering how much shade I throw at Konami. “Everyone makes bad games until they make a good one, and everyone makes good games until they make a bad one,” is something I say. Case in point: this one turned out pretty well. I have some complaints about its length. Actually, I have a lot of complaints about its length, which I go into in detail if you’re interested.

I think the Silent Hill game that really should have been remade is Silent Hill 4: The Room. It has some really great ideas and one of the best narratives in the series, but it’s let down because half of the game is an escort quest through locations you’ve already been through. Gross. I bet Bloober Team would be able to give it a good face lift.